Volume 4, 62 [The Tragedy At Roswaal’s Mansion]

Volume 4, Chapter 62 [The Tragedy At Roswaal’s Mansion]

Seeing the woman standing in the doorway, a shiver ran through Subaru’s entire body.

Even for Subaru, who had experienced so many bouts of desperation and death since his arrival in the Parallel World, this was an existence that inspired a strange kind of dread.

Donning a black feathered cloak, the dynamic curvatures of her body were packaged in jet-black attire. The same color as Subaru’s, her black hair, which was such a rarity in this world, was woven into a french braid. The far corners of her eyes were angled downwards, while a seductive smile adorned her almost gentle expression.

If it weren’t for the blood-drenched blades casually dangling from her hands, she might have been mistaken for a lady straight out of a portrait―― instead of this murdering monster that was Subaru’s worst nightmare. His first-killer. The Bowel Hunter: Elsa Granhiert.

[Subaru: How are...... you here!?]

[Elsa: ――Oh my, I was wondering where I had smelled that smell before? How has your body been faring since we last parted? Have you been taking good care of your bowels for me?]

As if having just noticed the tongue-tied Subaru’s presence, Elsa lifted her brows and slightly tilted her head.

Just from her answer to his question, it was already clear that no conversation could be had between them. Taking care of one’s bowels isn’t something normal people would consider suggesting. Hearing her make such a request like it was a matter of course left no doubt in his mind that this woman before his eyes was a lunatic.

What’s more, she was a lunatic of a completely different breed than Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti.

Feeling all the muscles in his body contracting, Subaru strained his nerves watching Elsa’s every movement.

But the combat strength of this madwoman was such that she had taken a blow from the Sword Saint, Reinhardt, and lived. No matter how much Subaru sharpened his nerves, chances were she could take him down before he’d even have time to react.

[Beatrice: ――Who gave you permission to be here, I suppose]

Suddenly, a voice came from behind Subaru, addressing Elsa.

The one who asked this impassive question was Beatrice. She remained as before, facing against Subaru, except all traces of her tears had vanished from her face.

Hearing the girl’s question, Elsa brushed her hand through her long, dark hair.

[Elsa: It wasn’t locked or anything, all I did was open the door and come in? If you’re having such an important conversation, you shouldn’t forget to lock next time]

[Beatrice: That’s not what I meant. This is Betty’s Forbidden Library, and you have entered without my permission...... aside from this man, not many others could do this, I suppose. How did you manage this]

[Elsa: Ah, that’s simple]

As Beatrice tossed a glance towards Door Crossing’s other exception, Subaru, Elsa nodded as if having understood her question. Then, she gestured to the opened doorway,

[Elsa: Your spatial-isolation magic...... uses doors as its medium, right? A door-linking spell that connects closed doors with other closed doors?]

[Beatrice: Yes. The Forbidden Library is potentially connected to any door in the Mansion. Unless Betty permits it, it should be impossible to find it, I suppose. So how did you......]

[Elsa: Then it’s easy. Seeing how it uses closed doors as the medium...... if I just opened every door, that would eliminate all the other possibilities, right?]

[Beatrice: ――――!]

Elsa spelled out her straightforward solution to Beatrice’s Door Crossing.

Indeed it was just as she said. Beatrice’s Door Crossing was a spatial transition magic that linked closed doors with one another. That is, it could not link to doors that were already open. Since there was a finite number of doors in the Mansion, once all the other doors were opened, the last one remaining could only lead to the Forbidden Library. But, in order to do this,

[Subaru: You’d have to open every door in the Mansion...... and no one tried to stop you......?]

But the moment he spoke, Subaru realized the full extent of his stupidity.

Or rather, that he had been averting his eyes from the truth that he didn’t want to see.

[Subaru: On... your knife...... whose blood is that?]

The blades of Elsa’s Kukri-knives were coated in congealing blood. Judging from the droplets still dripping from their tips, one might imagine that they had only just sliced open their prey. That, combined with his existing assumptions, gave Subaru more than enough reason to imagine the worst.

Watching the color drain from Subaru’s lips, Elsa traced her finger over the side of her blade, and then licked her bloodied finger clean.

[Elsa: I wonder whose it is?]

[Subaru: You......]

[Elsa: I’ll give you a hint. She’s dressed as a maid]

There were three people in the Mansion. They were all dressed as maids. Or no, Rem would be sleeping in her nightgown. So she’s out as a candidate. That leaves only two.

[Elsa: Hint number two. Her hair wasn’t long]

Petra’s hair was shoulder-length. Frederica’s hair was long.

――Subaru’s throat inhaled in preparation for the scream that was to come.

[Elsa: Hint number three―― “Subaru, Subaru!” she cried as she died]

[Subaru: ELSAAAAAAAA――!!!!]

Baring his teeth as he lowered his stance, Subaru charged towards Elsa head on.

Elsa casually straightened her limbs to meet his charge, pointing the tip of her right-hand blade at the oncoming Subaru’s eye――

[Elsa: ――Ara?]

[Subaru: Like anyone’s gonna charge a monster like you from the front!]

Elsa groaned as if taken by surprise.

In front of her, Subaru lowered his body, scraping his hand against the floor before swinging it in an upwards arc. Caught in the trajectory of his arm, a stack of Gospel pages went up fluttering.

In an instant, tens of white pages blocked Elsa’s view of Subaru. Immediately drawing in a breath, Subaru concentrated every ounce of his mana into the center of his stomach, and,

[Subaru: ――SHAMAC!!!!]

A plume of black smoke billowed out, completely obscuring the space between Elsa and Subaru.

Though it paled in comparison to the Shamac he used against Julius, he knew from experience that it would be effective against Elsa. Unlike last time, when he completely expelled all the mana inside his body, this time, it only left a general sense of fatigue, an indication that he was getting better at utilizing his mana.

[Subaru: Beatrice!]

Quickly turning around, Subaru grabbed the on-looking Beatrice by the arm. Though for a moment, she made an effort to resist, she didn’t manage to escape Subaru’s grip.

Forcefully pulling her almost weightless body, Subaru embraced the small girl into his arms and launched himself back into the Shamac.

――Confusion. Deprived of vision, sound, sensation, and left with only darkness.

The feeling of his footfalls had become Subaru’s everything, the entirety of his world.

In the span between one foot left the ground and his other foot landed, Subaru was completely abandoned by the world. His left foot lands. He was linked to the world. His left foot leaves. He was alone. His right foot lands. He was linked. He was alone. He was linked. He was alone. He felt something struggling in his arms. But he didn’t let go. He mustn’t leave her alone. He was linked. He was linked. He was linked.

[Subaru: ――Phaa!]

The next instant, as if popping his head out of a water’s surface, the darkness abruptly fell away.

In his clearing vision, Subaru found himself in the Mansion’s hallway. The red carpet lining the halls could only mean that they’ve dashed out of the Library.

They have bypassed Elsa at the door and escaped.

[Subaru: Knew that would work――!]

He knew that when hit with Shamac from the front, the battle-hardened Elsa would try to shoot Subaru through the smokescreen thinking that he would be running away. By going against her expectation and running towards her, Subaru passed right by Elsa through the door she had left open.

[Subaru: Kinda wanna say “Nailed it!”, but......]

This was no time to congratulate himself.

She didn’t know how long Shamac would last, but as soon as Elsa realizes that Subaru isn’t in front of her, she will immediately turn back in pursuit.

Roughly kicking the door shut behind him, Door Crossing’s link was severed. But, depending on Beatrice, Subaru couldn’t be sure if the Forbidden Library was still connected to his immediate surroundings.

[Subaru: Beatrice! Link the door to different room in the house......]

[Beatrice: I was going to even without you telling me, I suppose. Also, close some doors around us, that’ll buy us some time]

[Subaru: Shit, that’s right!]

Answering the disdainful words of the girl in his arms, Subaru scrambled to shut the closest doors around him. While closing each door he peeked inside, but found nothing of note.

He didn’t know how much of Elsa’s words could be believed, but――

[Subaru: What to do... what to do what to do what to do what to do what to do――]

The questions were endless.

Why was Elsa here now? Out of all the loops, this was the earliest she had appeared in the Mansion. It was the sixth day, then the fourth, and now the second―― no matter when, Elsa always attacked on the same day Subaru arrived at the Mansion.

He had already suspected this before. But now, after hearing Elsa’s statements in the Library, that suspicion was turned into conviction.

But if that was the case, then why――

[Subaru: Why not wait one more day...... or just wait a few more hours!]

That night, Petra would have been brought back to the village.

Subaru was already half-resigned to the fact that Elsa would attack the Mansion. The sight of Petra’s lifeless corpse remained seared into the back of his eyes. So this time he was resolved to place her far away from the carnage. Yet, even so, evil arrived sooner than his countermeasures could be carried out, and the girl could not escape her fate.

[Subaru: It’s not over yet. There’s no need to give up now. Even if she has some overpowered setup, there’s still a chance. There has to be. How can I lose hope now......!]

[Beatrice: It’s not so much hope as it is reluctance to let go, I suppose......]

[Subaru: Shut up! Just be quiet and let me carry you! That lunatic wants to kill you too, you know. She’s the kind of pervert who’ll open your belly with her knife and get turned on by seeing what’s inside!]

[Beatrice: Wanting to see a spirit’s intestines... that’s just bad taste]

[Beatrice: You don’t even have the backbone to protect the girl you love yourself, I suppose? To be placed foremost in such a man’s heart... I shudder just thinking about it]

[Subaru: If feelings can knock whales from the sky I’ll knock down as many as you want, but the world isn’t so kind to me, you know]

Despite her disdainful remark, Beatrice seemed to have accepted his request. Even this bickering was probably out of Beatrice’s consideration for Subaru. Most likely, she did this to take his mind off of Petra.

Unlike Subaru, who had been oblivious to Beatrice’s sorrow and even now could not offer her a single solution, Beatrice was far more clever. And that was why he was always relying on her.

[Subaru: Let’s go]

[Beatrice: Mm, alright, I suppose]

Naturally, Beatrice held out her hand, and was hoisted up into Subaru’s arms without objections. Lifting up the light little girl, Subaru started running as he did before.

Bounding for the East Wing, Subaru tried his best to silence his steps, even though he knew that it was probably pointless. It didn’t appear as though Elsa had come through here as he darted up the stairs to the second floor, and then the third. Timidly popping his head into the hallway, he checked for any shadows around the destined room――

[Subaru: ――――]

Spotting a figure outside the room, Subaru quickly ducked back his head.

Seeing Beatrice quietly looking up at him in his arms, Subaru nodded, and stuck out his head once again―― there seemed to be a tall person leaning against the door.

Even from afar, there was no mistaking the golden hair and the maid’s uniform.

It was Frederica. Just as he thought, she was standing outside Rem’s bedroom, waiting for Subaru’s arrival.

[Subaru: What do we do......? Pretend nothing’s happened and say hello? If she hasn’t met up with Elsa yet, she might not know we’re on to her......]

[Beatrice: If your prediction is correct, then the moment that maid invited the enemy into the Mansion, she’d already had no reason to care about our feelings. Besides, when you last parted with that maid, you were entering the Forbidden Library, I suppose. The moment you stepped out, you already have no more excuses]

[Subaru: In that case, we’ll just have to break through from the front]

Frederica’s weapon of choice―― was what looked to be a pair of clawed gauntlets. From both her bearing and the fact that she was Garfiel’s older sister, even if Subaru hadn’t personally seen her in action, he could imagine how powerful she must be. Their chances of victory from a frontal assault was almost non-existent.

[Subaru: I’ll release Shamac right away, and if we manage to surprise her, can you hit her with some ranged magic attacks......? Even if we can’t fight her, we’re good as long as we can get her to retreat......]

[Beatrice: That’s way too lenient for a traitor, I suppose. You can’t face an opponent who’s out to kill you without having the same resolve yourself]

Listening to Beatrice remark coldly, though he knew that she was right, Subaru was still reluctant to follow her advice. Even knowing that the person in question was a traitor, it was still someone who had once treated him as a friend. For as long as Subaru could remember those times, it would never be such a clear-cut matter.

Even if, purely in terms of consequence, Frederica was deeply responsible for Petra’s death.

[Subaru: Beatrice. I’ll block her line of sight with Shamac. I’ll count on you to maybe lightly shoot her with something]

[Beatrice: ――You realize things could go badly if we go too easy on her, I suppose?]

[Subaru: There are just some things I still want to ask her. Don’t overthink it]

“Isn’t it a bit late for that?”, Beatrice’s expression seemed to say, but, seeing Subaru lower his head, she sighed through her nostrils and said nothing.

Reminding himself not to impose on her, Subaru took a deep breath, and opened and closed his palms. His body was still somewhat fatigued, but he should still be able to manage one more Shamac――

[Subaru: Hold it together, body of mine. ――SHAMAC!]

Dashing into the hallway, before Frederica could turn around, black smoke shot out from Subaru’s outstretched palm.

Without fail, it filled the space between Subaru and Frederica just as it had done in the Library. But, along the way, feeling his head grow heavy from the excess loss of mana, Subaru fell to his knees and collapsed to the floor.

Stepping out beside him, Beatrice held her hands in front of her as she advanced. Chanting something under her breath, a hollow hole warped from the atmosphere, from which emerged a spear shrouded in pale purple flame.

Its burning tip causing the atmosphere to tremble, the amethyst spear levitated into the air. ――Ignoring Subaru’s protest that the magic was clearly lethal, Beatrice fired the spear into the shadow――

[Beatrice: .....something’s off]

Beatrice tilted her head, muttering.

Subaru didn’t understand her reaction, but the spear came to a halt mid air, and with a turn of her outstretched finger, Beatrice made the spear swipe left and right.

With this simple movement, the darkness from Subaru’s Shamac was dispelled. That was merely because, being a Dark Magic user herself, Beatrice’s influence was far greater than Subaru’s.

Seeing the fruit of his exhausting efforts so easily brushed away, Subaru looked on stupidly. But that sentiment soon fell away.

When he realized the reason Beatrice had halted her attack.

[Subaru: ――――]

With the shadows clearing from the hallway, Subaru advanced straight towards Frederica.

Dragging along his exhausted, mana-deprived body, at the speed of a turtle’s crawl, Subaru made his way to her feet. There was no more need for caution. For she made no reaction to his approach. None at all.

――She would never react to anything again.

[Subaru: ......why]

Frederica had died, standing guard in front of Rem’s room.

Her stomach was pierced by a Kukri-knife, nailing her to the door. On her lifelessly dangling arms were her gauntlets. As evidence that it was a hard-fought battle, her clothes were riddled with cuts.

Frederica’s body was already cold, and her expression indicated that her soul had long departed. Her stiffened face spoke of bitterness and regret, and Subaru could tell that she had defended the door with her life.

In other words, Frederica had fought to the end so that the attacker would not enter this room.

She would have no reason to do this if she was the one who led the culprit here.

[Subaru: I completely doubted you...... when you...]

Covering his face with his palm, Subaru did his best to take in the reality before his eyes.

Frederica died with blade wounds littering her body. Now that he had seen her like this, how could he say that she was an informant and a traitor?

Was this the fruit of his distrust? He was so eager to accuse her, when in fact, he just wanted an excuse to lessen his own guilt.

He had to admit it.

[Subaru: ――I was wrong...... wasn’t I]

Frederica was not a traitor.

She fought to the death, guarding Rem until the end. Judging from the coldness of her body, she probably died before Petra in the dining room.

She would have had no time to lead Elsa to the Forbidden Library.

[Subaru: ......Rem]

A gaping blankness took over his skull.

Uncoiling his scrambled thoughts, the first thing that came to mind was that lovely, sleeping girl inside the room which Frederica had been guarding.

Frederica’s stiffening body had grown heavy, and prying her from the door was heavy work. Subaru had to exercise his utmost caution in order to avoid harming her any further. Though his fingers were as impatient as his heart.

But, like a betrayal of Subaru’s considerations,

[???: ――Finally found you]

At the end of the hallway, a black shadow slipped into view.

Elsa stooped low with her french braid swinging, holding her palm against the floor, watching them with eyes wet with rapacious murder. Her gaze ran up and down his body, petrifying Subaru in place. Not letting this opening escape her, Elsa’s shadow shot through the hallway.

That soundless advance was none other than the approach of “Death”.

[Beatrice: You’d be making a huge mistake if you think we’ll go down so easily]

But there was someone who blocked Elsa’s advance.

Beatrice lightly lifted up her hands to where her amethyst spear was waiting, with its aim locked on Elsa.

The spear that had been held from its purpose screeched in exalted glee at a new target for its destruction.

[Elsa: That’s quite a dangerous toy for someone so small]

[Beatrice: Whether it’s a children’s toy or not, your body can be the test of that]

Elsa smiled in the face of this diabolical magic. And, as if to wipe that smile from her face, Beatrice’s amethyst spear shot out.

The spear’s velocity far surpassed that of the icicles Subaru had seen Emilia fire. Although there was only one, it lined up directly with Elsa’s trajectory as she dashed forward with the same momentum―― but, bending down with her chest nearly sliding along the floor, Elsa evaded the strike.

[Elsa: Too bad. Your aim and speed still needs some work]

Feeling the weapon graze past the back of her head, Elsa muttered without a trace of fear as she turned her underhanded Kukri-knife towards Beatrice.

The blade’s dull gleam approached Beatrice’s body, threatening to cleave her tiny figure in two――

[Beatrice: You’re the one who hasn’t thought this through, Human]

Just before it could happen, Beatrice clenched her open palm, and the amethyst spear swelled. Continuing down its course after having missed its target, the spear bulged at the end of the hallway and burst like a ruptured balloon behind the halting Elsa.

[Elsa: ――This!]

The exploded spear’s splinters turned into smaller spears, surrounding Elsa from all directions.

Though they were called smaller spears, they were each no bigger than Subaru’s index finger. Their countless multitudes flooded the space, all their tips pointing at Elsa.

And then,

[Beatrice: This shall be your punishment for trespassing into Betty’s Forbidden Library, I suppose. ――Drawn and quartered, would be a fitting end]

Proclaiming this merciless sentence, she fired the amethyst spears.

-=Chapter 62 End=-